BEAUTIFUL DAY TODAY....SUNNY AND IN THE MID 60'S.

BACK AT COFFEE TODAY, JERRY RASMUSSEN AND BOB ENGEL.
JERRY AND DOROTHY JUST RETURNED HOME AFTER A SHORT WINTER STAY IN ARIZONA AND BOB AND BEV JUST GOT BACK FROM A MONTH STAY
IN FLORIDA. AND GOT WORD TODAY THAT THE JOHN AND MERT JONES ARE HEADING HOME FOR THE SPRING AND SUMMER IN EARLY MAY.
GUESS EVERYONE DOWN THERE IS STARTING TO HEAD NORTH ....
EXCEPT OF COURSE, RON AND SHIRLEY.

AT ROTARY TODAY, THE GUEST SPEAKER WAS PAUL TABOR, OWNER OF TABOR WINERY OF BALDWIN, WHICH IS NOW NEARLY 10 YEARS OLD.
HIS FIRST YEAR, HE PRODUCED 3,000 GALLONS OF WINE AND LAST YEAR,
10,000 GALLONS. AT THE START, HE WAS THE LONE EMPLOYEE AND NOW
THERE ARE 4 FULLTIME AND 2 PART-TIME. HE SELLS HIS WINE AT THE WINERY AT BALDWIN AND AT 150 GIFT SHOPS AROUND IOWA. AND ABOUT 9 PERCENT OF HIS SALES IS FROM HIS WEB SITE. TABOR WINERY WAS THE FIRST WINERY OUTSIDE OF THE EIGHT AT THE AMANAS BACK IN 1976. NOW, THERE ARE 54 WINERIES AND 275 VINYARDS. THERE IS A NEW WINERY TRAIL AND IT EXTENDS FROM WEST BRANCH UP TO
THE DECORAH AREA AND INCLUDED ON THE TRAIL, TABOR WINERY. THEY PLAN SPECIAL ATTRACTIONS FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO SPEND A DAY OR MORE VISITING A SERIES OF WINERIES. WINE IS BIG BUSINESS AGAIN IN
IOWA, BUT NOT AS BIG AS IT WAS BEFORE THE PROHIBITION. AND, SAYS PAUL, THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF DRINKING WINE HAS HELPED THE GROWTH AND POPULARITY OF WINE. THERE..NOW YOU KNOW MORE ABOUT THE WINE BUSINESS IN JACKSON COUNTY AND IOWA.

NOW..I'VE RUN OUT OF TIME...

CHECK BACK AGAIN TOMORROW.

DENNIS VOY